Essay on the Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome

Essay from the year 2015 in the subject Medicine - Other, , language: English, abstract: Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) can be described as a problem or condition prevalent in newborn children who have been exposed to addictive prescription or illegal drugs while they were developing in their mother's wombs (Queensland Maternity and Neonatal Clinical, 2010). The condition often results after the mother of an unborn child uses opiate or narcotic drugs for example heroin, oxycodone, methadone, codeine or buprenorphine. The condition has many adverse effects on the newborn child. The condition shares similar symptoms and may be confused easily with other diseases prevalent in children (Matic, 2008). However, various tests help to diagnose the condition. The diagnosis of the condition mainly depends on a study of the kind of drugs that the mother used, and the same drug may be used in the treatment process (MacMullen, Dulski, & Blobaum, 2014). More research on the NAS condition is vital in today's world where drug and substance abuse among expectant women is on the increase. The number of cases reported with such conditions globally is on the rise. Thus, more research is needed to show the various factors that can lead to the condition.